Thursday, June 26, 2008

Now more than ever, economic and environmental benefits are critical to the sustainability of institutions. Energy efficiency, indoor air quality, water conservation, smart land use and more are essential components for a healthier campus. Remodeling and building with sustainable materials to meet the needs of growing campuses are key to reducing the impact on the environment, health, and resources. Environmental decisions now affect us economically later.

Make the right environmental decisions: join EPA and Spelman College in learning the dollars and sense of Going Green. Learn about benefits, success stories and resources available for Colleges and Universities. The window of opportunity is now!

Click here to receive electronic updates and further conference information. Check back often, information will be updated as it becomes available! Sponsored By: US EPA Region 4 and Spelman College

Monday, June 23, 2008

Environmental Justice, a new peer-reviewed quarterly journal under the direction of Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sylvia Hood Washington, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, was launched last month and the response to the inaugural issue has been very enthusiastic. We invite you to submit your best work to the Journal to be considered for publication. Manuscripts received by July 15, 2008 may be considered for inclusion in our second issue.

1) The adverse health effects on populations that are most subject to health and environmental hazards2) The protection of socially, politically, and economically marginalized communities from environmental health impacts and inequitable environmental burden3) The prevention and resolution of harmful policies, projects, and developments and issues of compliance and enforcement, activism, and corrective actions4) Multidisciplinary analysis, debate, and discussion of the impact of past and present public health responses to environmental threats, current and future environmental and urban planning policies, land use decisions, legal responses, and geopolitics5) Past and contemporary environmental compliance and enforcement, activism, and corrective actions, environmental politics, environmental health disparities, environmental sociology, and environmental history6) The connection between environmental remediation, economic empowerment, relocation of facilities that pose hazardous risk to health, selection of new locations for industrial facilities, and the relocation of communities7) The complicated issues inherent in remediation, funding, relocation of facilities that pose hazardous risk to health, and selection for new locations

The Grand Opening Session: The State of Environmental Justice in America was held in the Moot Court at the Howard University School of Law. Conferees were welcomed by Dean Kurt L. Schmoke, Howard University School of Law.

This is a very important conference in that it addresses issues and challenges from diverse views and varied interests. The planning process has been open to all. We have enjoyed the advice and support from numerous community groups, governments at all levels, private industry and the academic community. The planning committee was open to all. The decisions were made in the open and subject to review by many. Democracy works best when people are allowed to state their views, have them respected and get a thoughtful response. That is how the planning was conducted and committee members are still speaking to each other.

Tim Fields, above, was the moderator for the Grand Opening Session: The State of Environmental Justice in America. Mr. Fields is Senior Vice President, Tetra Tech Em Inc and former Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Special thanks to the Planning Committee for their commitment and participation in planning this conference. All participants and attendees owe the success of this conference to your dedication and support for environmental justice.

Chairman Billy Reese Kee, above, Chairman of the Board of the Forgotten People, was a presenter at the session on Tribal Perspective on Environmental Justice. He and Forgotten People consultant Marsha Monestersky presented environmental justice issues in the Navajo Nation. Stephen Etsitty, Director, Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency also presented the agency perspective on environmental justice.

Environmental justice requires fair treatment and meaningful involvement for all in environmental decisions and actions. Fair treatment and meaningful involvement are four words with plain and clear meanings when taken at face value. However, when combined into terms and applied to issues related to environmental actions, they assume different meanings in different quarters for different people.

Monday, June 2, 2008

On May 22, 2008 the U.S. Department of Energy announced its revised Environmental Justice Policy at The State of Environmental Justice in America 2008 Conference at the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

EJ Conference Contact

Statement of Purpose

Mission and goals of conferences: The EJ conferences bring together individuals interested in environmental justice from diverse groups at this noteworthy juncture in the history of environmental justice, through a process of dialogue and learning from each other. The conference seeks to bring together federal employees, academics, business and industry, non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, local community activists and others to participate in dialog on achieving equality of environmental protection. The conference will serve as an academic legal conference to advance scholarship regarding environmental justice.

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this blog are strictly those of the moderator and commenters. Nothing contained on this blog represents the views or official positions of the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Interior, Howard University, National Small Town Alliance, or any of the other cosponsors or coordinator of the conference.

Sensitivity Statement

"Because of the chemical sensivity of many people, we are encouraging attendees not to wear scented toiletry items."